Plot: What’s it about?
Who’d have thought that when Michael Crichton, a 6’9″ who got his degree of Medicine from Harvard in the late 60’s, would still be shaping our future well into the 21st century? Crichton never practiced medicine, rather he turned to writing and, as time has told us, he did rather well with it. In November 1990, the book Jurassic Park was published and the rest, as they say – is history. The film was adapted to the screen by none other than Steven Spielberg in 1993 and I don’t have to tell you that it was, well, a hit. Over the years we’ve seen the obligatory sequel, and another and then…nothing for about 15 years. In 2015 we were greeted with a reboot of sorts (because, why do something new when you can rehash something that’s already there) and that movie has had two sequels itself. And now, here we are. To say that the Jurassic Park franchise has been around is something of an understatement and to put in perspective, star Scarlett Johansson, now in her 40’s, was only nine years old when the first installment came out. So there’s the history, but let’s focus on the present.
Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) is an expert in Covert Ops. She’s been recruited to help a pharmaceutical company representative, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) get out of a forbidden region near the equator. This is where the last remaining dinosaurs live. He believes that the DNA from these prehistoric creatures (sort of) will help create a medication that will, hopefully, eliminate heart disease. Becasue we can’t just have two people in the mix, we also meet Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), a paleontologist who works for a museum and in tow is Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), a trusted navigator. Things to wrong because, well, we wouldn’t have a movie if they didn’t. The group rescues a family led by Rueben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) who had a run-in with the dinosaurs. They’re soon separated and it’s here where the story arcs collide.
The Jurassic franchise has seen a lot of talent through its various incarnations, and I was excited to see that Gareth Edwards was helming this one. His 2014 Godzilla remains one of my recent favorites. And when you’re directing the seventh installment of a franchise, there’s a pretty well-established history. That’s not to say that it makes it “easy” by any means, but let’s just say that there’s a pretty strong foundation there. Admittedly, one downfall of this trope is that the characters are, by and large, two dimensional (i.e. Zora is haunted by the death of a colleague, the businessman who only cares about money, etc.) but there’s one thing that this movie has that the previous installments haven’t – fun. Yeah, that’s right – this one was actually entertaining. It’s not the best of the series, I believe that began and ended with the original. But if you’re out for a good time then this one does check all the boxes.
Video: How’s it look?
It should come as no surprise that Jurassic World: Rebirth looks as good as it does. The Ultra HD format gives the transfer a bit more color, depth and detail when compared to its Blu-ray counterpart. These are all good things when the film deals with dinosaurs. There are some scenes that are truly a spectacle and I can only imagine what they’d look like on a really large screen. Much like Kong: Skull Island (or any other of the Jurassic films), we get a visual array of every color in the spectrum. While the Blu-ray looks good, this is certainly the best-looking Jurassic film of the bunch.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Each and every Jurassic film has sported some sort of DTS track and with Rebirth, we’re treated to one of the more robust tracks I’ve heard in a while. Though not a DTS: X track (which is odd, since Jurassic Park was the film that brought us DTS to begin with), this Dolby Atmos mix fills the air with so much aura and atmosphere, I was happy the wife was with me when we were watching it. We’ll never know how much sound a dinosaur makes when it walks (or runs) through the jungle, but this mix makes it feel like we’re right there with them. LFE are heavily involved, the front and rear surrounds create a dizzying effect and the front channels help center the action. If ever there was a reference-quality soundtrack, it’s arrived.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Director Gareth Edwards, Production Designer James Clyne and First A.D. Jack Ravenscroft seem to have a lot to say in the 134 minute track. Given this team, pretty much everything is covered here with details (very technical details, I might add) that’ll keep even the most rabid fan at bay. For those that are interested, it’s worth a listen.
- Audio Commentary – Director Gareth Edwards, Editor Jabez Olssen and Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery I’m sure have a great track. Honestly, I didn’t have it in me to watch this film a third time, but if you’re more into the editing and visual effects of the movie, this track is the one for you.
- Alternate Opening – Pretty much that. An alternate opening that’s really not that alternate.
- Deleted Scenes
- Raptors – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda
- Mutadon Attack – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda
- Jurassic World: Rebirth: Hatching a New Era
- The World Evolves – Journey into a reimagined Jurassic World with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and the rest of the cast and filmmakers.
- Off the Deep End – Dive into the thrilling ocean sequence and learn about the challenges of shooting on open water, the one-of-a-kind gimbal used to toss around the Essex and Mariposa, and the VFX wizardry that brought the Mosasaurus and Spinosaurs to life.
- Trekking Through Thailand – Follow the cast and crew’s footsteps as they navigate the challenges of shooting in exotic jungles, beaches, and tall grass fields that become home to the Titanosaurs.
- Rex in the Rapids – Brace for a T. rex encounter that’s different than anything experienced before with a nail-biting river chase recreated from Michael Crichton’s original Jurassic Park novel.
- Don’t Look Down – Soar into the Quetzalcoatlus sequence with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Bechir Sylvain as they train for and shoot their cliff rappelling scenes.
- Mini-Mart Mayhem – Go inside the heart-stopping third act of Jurassic World Rebirth and witness the process of crafting sets that allow the movie’s mutant dinosaurs to step out of nightmare-inspired designs and stop on an exhilarating rampage.
- Gag Reel – Ever wondered what it’s like when a CGI dinosaur forgets its lines? That doesn’t happen here, but I’ve always wondered what would happen if…
- Meet Dolores – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality.
- Munched: Becoming Dino Food – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences.
- A Day at Skywalker Sound – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds.
- Hunting for Easter Eggs – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics.
The Bottom Line
To its credit, Jurassic World: Rebirth is better than its last two predecessors. Then again, its last two predecessors, well, sucked. Sorry, but they did. The bar was set pretty low here, but that doesn’t matter to the general-viewing public. The film delivers what we know it will and looks and sounds amazing. If you’ve seen all the previous installments, are you really going to stop now? Right.
